Down the Hall
by Sailor Rallison
Summary: Serena Tuskino, 21 years old, has just moved into her new penthouse apartment. Excited to be on her own and ready to start her life. She just has one tinsy, tiny problem. The tormenting jerk in her life, Darien Shields, is just down the hall from her! FOR THE PEOPLE OUT THERE CLAIMING THAT I STOLE THIS STORY FROM SOMEONE ELSE. I DID NOT. SEE A/N BEFORE CHAPTER 1 IF YOU WANT PROOF.
1. Neighbors

**ATTENTION! I HAVE GOTTEN TOO MANY COMMENTS AND PMs SAYING THAT I HAVE STOLEN THIS STORY FROM ANOTHER AUTHOR HERE. I HAVE NOT STOLEN THIS WORK. IT HAS COME FROM MY OWN IMAGINATION. IF YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO BELIEVE ME. THIS STORY WAS PUBLISHED ON 4/22/12 WHILE THE STORY PEOPLE HAVE SAID I COPIED WAS PUBLISHED ON 8/28/12 THERE IS NO WAY I COULD HAVE STOLEN THE IDEA FOR THE STORY. MINE WAS ALREADY FINISHED BY THE TIME THAT CAME OUT. IF ANYONE ELSE BOTHERS ME ABOUTH THIS, I AM TAKING DOWN MY STORIES AND LEAVING FANFICTION . NET.**

(TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012)

* * *

Down the Hall

Chapter 1

Neighbors

* * *

Serena Tuskino plopped down on her brand new, super squishy and light pink couch in her brand new apartment.

Twenty one years old, and just having moved into her brand spankin' new, _penthouse_ apartment. So she had one neighbor whom she had to share the floor with, but still it was her very own apartment.

The blonde sighed, watching her friend, Andrew; bring in the last of her boxes.

"Well, that's the last of them. You want me to help you unpack?" he asked as he placed the heavy box on her kitchen counter. "That's heavy. What do you even have in there?"

He pulled open the flaps to the box. "Seriously?" he pulled out one of the various stuffed bunny rabbits that were crammed into the box.

"What?" the blue eyed blonde asked innocently. "It's my bunny collection."

"I know you like bunnies, but really isn't this overkill?"

"No…"

Andrew rolled his eyes. "So yes or no, do you want me to help you finish unpacking?"

Serena waved her hand in a dismissive way. "Nah, you've been a huge help, I'll get it done later."

The sandy blonde shrugged. "Well, I gotta go. I am meeting a friend who lives here."

"Bye, Drew." She called as he exited the door.

Serena smiled; it felt so great to be on her own. No more over protective daddy threating boys with his shotgun even if they had just come over to work on a school project. Or her mother fawning over all of them. Parents can be so annoying.

She looked around her new place. It was one of the best one's she had found. Not too small, not too big.

Best pat only one neighbor, only one person she had to deal with making noise on the floor. And of course there would be only one person who could complain about her making too much noise.

The small girl fell back sown on the cushy sofa, exhausted from moving boxes all day. Who knew how much work it would have been?

She looked around at the bare, white walls.

"Those are too boring." She said to herself, sitting up. "Better start to get to work anyways. These boxes aren't gonna unpack themselves."

Serena pulled open up her box labeled 'Photos' in pink sharpie. She ripped open the box and pulled out the first bubble wrapped picture. Moving the squishy plastic away from the picture she smiled at the dorky picture of all her friends making funny faces at the camera.

Serena pulled out a few more photos and unwrapped them.

She grimaced as she came across one of The Jerk, also known as Darien Shields. Her tormentor. The guy who teased her and made fun of her every day.

Gosh how she hated him. Such a jerk.

Why did he have to pick on her, of all the _6,840,507,003 people in the world, did he have to pick her?_

_Why couldn't he pick on someone his own size?_

Litarally! The jerk did tower a full foot, maybe more, over her petite size of four foot, eleven inches.

"At least this place is Jerk free." She said to the air around her as she set to work arranging her new apartment.

* * *

Darien Shields paced back and forth in his living room. His best friend, Andrew, sitting on the couch.

"Stop pacing before you wear a rut in the carpet."

The black haired boy turned and glared at Andrew.

"But what am I going to do!"

The blonde rolled his hazel eyes. "It's a failed test. It's not the end of the world."

"Just a failed test! Just a failed test! Do you know how that could affect my grade!" he nearly shouted, coming close to ripping out his thick black locks. "I failed a test and it's all her fault!"

The sandy blonde raised an eyebrow at his hyperventilating friend. "Who's fault?"

"Meatball Head's!" he yelled.

"Oaky…. And just how is this Serena's fault?" he questioned.

"She's just so annoying! Ii ran into her before school and couldn't get her out of my mind! That's why I failed! It's all her fault!" he whined, acting like a three year old throwing a tantrum over a toy. The jumping up and down and whiny voice included.

Meatball Head… the girl he tormented every day. Every day after school he would tease her relentlessly.

Sometimes about her grades, mostly about her hair, and every now and then, her eating habits, then about her meatball hairstyle again.

He looked at his friend for help.

"Ya know you just got a new neighbor. Maybe you should act like a human and go say hi or something…"

Darien pondered this. Someone knew could help get his mind off of Meatball Head.

"You should really go say hi to her."

"It's a girl."

"Yeah. Do something nice for her. Act human, then maybe you'd have a friend."

"Like what?" he asked.

Andrew shrugged. "I donno. Make cookies or something. Girls like cookies, right? Something to welcome her to her new home."

"Fine I'll do something. Does that make you happy?"

Yes. Maybe then someone will see that you can be a normal person."

"I am a normal person!"

"One with emotions." Andrew said bluntly.

"That's harsh."

"But it's the truth." the blonde retorted.

* * *

One batch of cookies and an hour later had Darien down the hall knocking on his one and only neighbor's door.

"Coming!" a feminine voice from inside shouted. "Be there in a minute."

'Ugh! I've had Meatball Head in my mind for so long, all girls are starting to sound like her.' he thought as he balanced his plate of freshly baked cookies on his hand.

The door was soon opened by a short blonde girl. "Hey. My name's Darien, your new neighbor, just wanted to welcome you…" he trailed off as he recognized the girl in front of him.

"YOU!" she yelled, pointing a finger at him. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I was just gonna ask the same thing to you, Meatball Head!"

THUD!

The door was slammed in his face, Darien dropped the plate of cookies.

Great.

Just great.

This was exactly what he needed.

Meatball Head was his new neighbor.

* * *

Hey guys!

For any of those who don't know who I am I am Sailor Rallison, though you can call me Aliey, this is my fifth Sailor Moon fic. Check out my profile for more information on me and my other fics.

I came up with the idea for this and just wanted to know what you guys think. Should I continue?

Please review and let me know!

Sailor Rallison


	2. Living Hell

Down the Hall

Chapter 2

Living Hell

* * *

Serena heard someone knocking on her door. Must be her new neighbor she thought. "Coming. Be there in a minute!" she shouted from the kitchen where she was unpacking her cookware.

Wiping her hands on her shirt she moved over to the entry hall. Slowly she opened the door, curious as to what her new neighbor was like.

"Hey. My name's Darien, your new neighbor, just wanted to welcome you…"

She couldn't believe who was standing in front of her. "YOU!" she cried pointing a shaking finger at him. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"I was just gonna ask the same thing to you, Meatball Head!"

THUD!

Serena slammed her door in The Jerk's face. The blonde leaned against the door.

Someone had to be playing a joke on her!

A joke that was totally not funny.

"I bet this is Drew's idea of a funny stunt. I'll show him." she ground out angrily. She stalked over to the kitchen counter and grabbed her pink cell phone.

The petite girl punched in her (ex) friend's number.

She listened to the phone ring only to get his voice mail. "Hey, you've reached Andrew. Sorry I can't get to the phone now. Please leave your message after the beep." she head a person say the word beep in the background. "Not that beep but this one." the phone let out a small beeping sound.

"ANDREW MOTOKI FURUHATA! You are so dead! How could you think that would be funny! You stupid jerk!" she yelled in to the pink phone. Serena hung up and tossed her phone down on the couch.

"I don't wanna share the floor with Jerk Face!" she cried into her pink bunny Pillow Pet (As seen on TV!).

She heard a knock on her door again. "Go away!" she shouted knowing it was the jerk again.

Darien knocked harder when he heard Serena shout at him to go away. "Come on Serena! Open the door." he cried, banging his fist against the door.

"GO AWAY! JERK!"

Darien ran a hand through his dark, thick hair. "Please." He set his plate of cookies by the door. "I guess I'll just leave these cookies I made for my neighbor right here."

He dejectedly walked back to his own apartment. Slamming the door shut he looked around for his evil friend. "Slimy git must of escaped when I went over there." He muttered to himself when he saw the sandy blonde was nowhere in sight.

"Oh boy, Meatball Head as my neighbor. Gust what I needed in my last year of school. Now how am I supposed to study with her goofing off down the hall?"

He groaned and leaned back against his counter. Why on Earth did Meatball Head have to be his neighbor?

Why couldn't it have been some random person he didn't know?

… .. …

Serena danced around her room while unpacking the rest of her belongings.

Her newly unpacked speaker/stereo system/ alarm clock blasting an odd assortment of her favorite pop songs and show tunes.

"POPULAR! I know about popular.  
and with an assist from me,  
to be who you'll be,  
instead of dreary who you were...uh, are.  
there's nothing that can stop you,  
from becoming popular... lar...

la la, la la!  
we're gonna make you pop-u-lar!

when i see depressing creatures,  
with unprepossessing features,  
i remind them on their own behalf  
to - think - of  
celebrated heads of state,  
or specially great communicators!  
did they have brains or knowledge?  
don't make me laugh!

they were POPULAR!  
please! it's all about popular.  
it's not about aptitude,  
it's the way you're viewed,  
so it's very shrewd to be,  
very very popular like ME!

why, miss Elphaba, look at you. you're beautiful!

I, I have to go...

you're welcome...

and though you protest,  
your disinterest,  
I know clandestinly,  
you're gonna' grin and bear it!  
you're new found popularity!  
ah!

la la, la la!  
you'll be popular!  
just not quite as popular as -"

A loud knocking came from the door.

The blonde grabbed the remote for the speaker system and hit pause. "WHAT?" she yelled, tossing the black plastic rectangle down as she started to make her way to the door, knowing who was on the other side.

Serena threw open the door. "What do you want. I'm kinda busy unpacking at the moment."

"Keep the volume down, Meatball Head!" the black haired jerk said, leaning against her doorframe. "I can hear it all the way from down in my apartment."

"Why should _you_ be telling _me _what to do? I do believe this is _my _place and no one can tell me what a can and cannot do!" she argued back, glairing up into her 'arch nemesis's' eyes.

She would have looked imitating, but it didn't help that she was over a foot shorter than Darien and had to crane her head back to look him properly in the eye.

"Fine I'll leave. Just turn your music down. It's giving me a hell of a headache!" he then proceeded to slam _her_ door in _her _face.

Hell…

Serena's face broke out in a mischievous grin.

Yes. She knew what she was going to do.

From now on the Jerk's life was going to be a living hell…

.. … ..

Serena plopped down on her couch with her big bowl of popcorn.

Looking around the room she grabbed the remote from its place in the coffee table.

She hit the 'on' button, wanting to watch one of her favorite movies.

The screen stayed black.

Again and again she pounded the big red 'on' button.

Still, nothing happened.

Sighing she scooted off the couch and headed to the door. Flinging it open, she made her way down the hall to bang on Darien's door.

He opened it, a tired look on his face and a cup of coffee in his hand.

"Darien! Could you help me with something?" she asked brightly, a huge grin plastered on her face.

"What do you want?"

"My TV's being stupid. It won't turn on." She pouted, grabbing hold of his arm and literally dragging him back to her door.

Darien trudged after her, tiredly; he just had a long day and had a big paper due the next day. All he wanted to do was finish his paper and go to sleep. Not help Meatball Head with her TV problems.

He blinked as she stuck her television remote in his face. "See. No matter how many times I try hitting the on button, it doesn't turn on!" she punched the button over and over again to prove her point.

He grabbed the remote from her and tried himself.

Once again, nothing happened.

The tall man flipped over the gray plastic in his hands, examining it. "Did you try changing the batteries? They could have died." He said bluntly.

Serena snatched her remote back and ran to the kitchen where she pulled out a pack of batteries from the bottom drawer of the counter. Replacing the ones in the remote she tried to turn on her television once more.

The screen flickered to life with the touch of the button.

Darien rolled his eyes at his neighbor. 'What a dumb blonde.' He thought to himself as she settled herself on her couch.

… .. …

"Darien. *sob* Why did Rue have to die in the book?"

"Because there can only be one Victor, it was obvious she was going to die. Get over it. It's a book. They're not real people."

…

"Darien! The internet's broken!"

…

"Darien! There's a big, huge bug!"

…

"Darien! What does '' mean?"

…

"Darien! I'm bored!"

…

"Darien!"

"What!"

"One of my light bulbs burned out!"

"Well why don't you fix it?"

"Because I can't reach it. I tried standing on a chair but that didn't work, I'm a delicate little thing, you know, and I didn't want to risk standing on the table, `cos I could fall. And you're a freakishly tall giant, so you fix it."

"If I fix it will you leave me alone?"

"Maybeee…."

"Fine I'll fix your stupid light bulb."

* * *

Hey guys!

I wanna give thanks to all of those who reviewed or favorite this story. I have a tradition of giving 'Warm Fuzzies' to those who do. Hope that helps motivate people to review, please remember to review and tell other people about this story.

Warm Fuzzies go to:

Seni

madeintexas

SerentiyMoonGodness

narsenic

serenityangelrose

lonjovana

str934

Dream Elf

Brizzy

sailor silvimoon

Duhhitskatieox

TropicalRemix

Romyna.Z

WildLatin

mixed array

stephumz

JanetChibiMoon

Kristina-Rose-Ivashkov

Minimoonqueen

I just wanna say WOW! This is the longest list of Warm Fuzzies I have ever had! Thank you to all the people who have read this!

Until next time

Aliey

Sailor Rallison


	3. Truth or Dare

Down the Hall

Chapter 3

Truth or Dare

"I dare you to go down the hall and kiss Darien Shields!"

"Mina!" Serena cried, throwing a handful of her popcorn at her blonde friend. "You know I hate him!"

"No you don't! Admit it you like him. The Goddess of Love and Beauty knows all!" the be-bowed blonde giggled, striking a pose.

"The self-proclaimed Goddess should then know that the dare was to kiss the man i question, not have Serena proclaim her love for him." a tall girl with brown hair pulled up in high ponytail laughed.

"Way to go Lita! ... Hey! I'm Not in love with him!" the smaller of the two blondes cried.

"Tell us that after you kiss him!"

"Shut up Rei!" the black haired girl put on a mock offended look at Serena's comment.

Lita leaned over. "Ya know you still have to do the dare."

"Seriously, how did this turn into a game of Truth or Dare? I thought this was a party to welcome back Lita from her culinary trip?" the every reading Amy asked from her perch on the arm of the couch as she looked up from her ever present book.

"Ames, what do we do every party we have...?" Mina raised an eyebrow at their friend. "Serena, make her do something silly when you get back from your make out fest with Darien. Now get your butt out there!"

The twenty-one year old sat up. "Fine I'll do it!"

With that she made her way to the front door of her apartment, all the girls following after her.

Serena made her way down the short hall, head held high.

She was going to complete this dare.

And still be able to say she hated Mr. Darien Shields once she was done with it. She couldn't wait to see the looks on Mina, Lita, Rei, and Amy's faces once she was done with this.

Serena held up her and in a fist and knocked on her enemy's door.

"Who is it?"

"Serena."

"Oh great, What do you want?" the door opened to reveal a messy haired Darien.

Serena mustered up all of her courage. She stood on her tippy toes and kissed him squarely on the lips.

"Wah..."

He quickly came to his senses, kissing her back.

Serena realized what he was doing and pulled back just before he deepened the kiss.

She couldn't believe what she had just done. She had kiss Darien Shields, her sworn arch nemesis.

And liked it...

She quickly composed herself, keeping her face straight she looked him in the eyes.

"Well, see you `round, Jerk." she spun on her heel and marched away, her four friends running after her. Serena glanced over her shoulder at the man gaping at her from down the hall.

She leaned against the door of her apartment when she entered it after her friends, a huge grin on her face.

"Did you see his face?"

"Totally! He was all 'Wah!' it was hilarious!" Rei turned and looked over at Serena. "Well, what do you have to say for yourself? Do you still hate him?"

"Yeah... do you, that looked like a pretty intense kiss to me?" Mina reached across the coffee table and grabbed a handful of the super yummy chocolate covered coffee beans Lita had broughten back with her from Costa Rica in her worldwide food trip.

Lita pulled the bowl farther away from the hyper blonde. "God girl, how many of those have you had? you know I can't just go to the store and buy another bag! There from another country! Anyways, Rena. I do believe you promised a report on your feelings once you kissed him."

The blonde took a deep breath. "I still hate him. Happy?"

"Nope, you're in..."

"LOOOVVEE!" all of the girls squealed together, giggling.

"I DO NOT LOOOVVEE HIM!" Serena protested, stuttering, face turning bright red.

"Yeah right! Your talking in all caps!"

"And your face is bright red!"

"And, don't forget, you're not using contractions, a sure sign you're lying!"

"I am not!" Serena stuttered. "I still hate him! believe me. I Hate Darien Shields! I have that jerk!"

All the girls laughed.

"Why aren't you believing me? No one in their right mind would like that arrogant Toe-Rag!"

"Someone's in denial!"

… .. …

Darien Shields could not believe what had happened to him.

Serena 'Meatball Head' Tuskino had kissed him.

Kissed him.

Of her own free will.

Not him kissing her.

But she just flat out kissed him.

Darien sat down heavily on his couch; he could hear laughter and girlish arguments coming from down the hall through his still open door.

"LOOOVVEE!"

"I DO NOT LOOOVVEE HIM!"

Serena's voice carried clearly down the hall.

Darien felt his heart drop. Then why had she kissed him?

He thought she had come to her mind and realized she liked him.

Like he had.

He ran a hand through his thick, messy black hair, groaning.

Never in his life would he say to anybody that he was in love with Serena Tuskino. Not the girl he teased and picked on all the time.

But the truth was that he was in love with her. Ever since that day several years ago, when Serena was still in high school and had hit him on the head with a failed math test.

As often as he could, he would go to Andrew's arcade and wait for her to get out of detention, class, or now work, and would tease her. Just as an excuse to talk to her. Never telling her his true feelings, he was always afraid of her saying 'no'.

Now, when she had kissed him, he thought that he would be able to finally tell her how he felt after all these years.

But no.

He had clearly heard Serena tell her friends that she still hated him.

… .. …

Serena leaned against the railing of her small balcony, listening to movie playing on her television in the background. She could hear Mina's snores from where the blonde had crashed on the couch after her caffeine high from all the sodas she had chugged for a dare from Lita.

All the girls had eventually crashed somewhere around the living room while watching their second movie, leaving Serena free to do as she wanted.

The blonde loved to watch the stars. They always brought her comfort.

She stared up at the bright dots in the sky, thinking about the kiss she had shared with Darien earlier that night. And about how she had told the girls that she still hated him.

But she didn't.

That kiss made her realize something that she had been avoiding to admit for years.

She, Serena Tuskino, was in love with Darien Shields.

The small girl sighed as she leaned her head against her elbow. "What am I going to do now?" she asked the still night air. "I can't tell him. He'll just laugh at me."

She waited, as if she expected the stars to answer her and giver her advice.

The sound of the occasional car driving by on the streets below was her only answer.

"Oh God, What have I gotten myself into?"

Well there you have it! Chapter three! I wonder what will happen next?

Warm Fuzzies go to:

Baby Serena

James Birdsong

JanetChibiMoon

Sereneserenity

Stephumz

nickybluejess

Simply Me

SerentiyMoonGodness

SailorMoon489

caiteexx

hahahabuddha

Wow! Lots of Warm Fuzzies! Hope this trend continues!

PS (Kinda a PS) the Costa Rica and coffee beans were taken from my recent trip there, also the reason for not updating sooner, I can now say I 3 coffee!

Until Next time! Pura Vida!

Sailor Rallison

Aliey


	4. Never Trust a French FeatherDuster

Down the Hall

Chapter 4

Never Trust a French Feather-Duster

* * *

"Darien. Darien! Darien!"

"What?" the dark haired man in question bolted up from where he was staring out the window. He looked up into the green eyes that were staring intently at him from behind a pair of slim, black, rectangular glasses.

"I'm gonna get going, Darien. It's getting late and you're zoning off." She picked up a heavy text book and slung a brightly colored backpack over her shoulder.

"See ya later then, Addie." Darien said blandly, not bothering to look up at the girl he had been tutoring.

He looked up when he realized that she wasn't leaving. "Pardon me, but what are you still doing here. You just said you were leaving."

"You're coming tomorrow? It's opening night."

The older man raised an eyebrow at her, trying to remember what she was referring to.

"Beauty and the Beast. You promised to be there. Remember?" she fiddled nervously with her pencil as she waited for him to respond.

"Oh yeah, sorry. It just slipped my mind. Yeah. Of course I'll be there." Darien looked back down at the book in his lap.

"Just letting you know, you'll be sitting next to one of my other friends who I invited. I really think you'll like her." the brunette girl winked and giggled as she gave him a mischievous smile.

Darien looked up once more. "_Her_? Are you trying to set me up? Again?"

"Mayyyybeee… See ya tomorrow!" she chirped, running out of the apartment.

Darien rolled his eyes at the fast leaving girl, shaking his head.

The black haired man pushed his own book off his chair and reached for his coffee mug sitting on the table.

"Great, it's empty." Sighing he made his way to the kitchen to turn his coffee pot back on.

He thought back to all the times Addie had tried to get him to go out with several of her friends, claiming that he was 'grumpy' because he was 'lonely'.

Not that any of her attempts had worked; he was always comparing them to Serena in his mind.

The golden haired girl popped into his mind. That girl seemed relentless on making his life awful, though he hadn't seen her lately. Darien had associated it with the kiss they had shared almost a week ago.

He had been heartbroken when he had heard Serena yell from down the hall that she didn't love him.

Darien had pushed himself further in his studies to try to avoid seeing her as not to be really awkward around her. He leaned against the marble of his kitchen counter, mulling over the hundreds of ways how to approach Serena, each one more ridiculous then the one before.

The tall man absentmindedly drummed his fingers against the counter waiting on the coffee pot.

Darien had almost missed the bubbly blonde banging on his door at all odd hours, forcing him to do all kinds of weird tasks for her. Running to him with all of her tiny problems.

Well almost.

The only good thing that came out of her not barging down the hall at least once a day was that she no longer interrupted his studying.

Thoughts of the petite girl flooded his mind.

He recalled the one time she had threatened to break down his door if he didn't kill an itsy-bitsy spider that had crawled in through her open balcony door.

Or another Meatball Moment when the blonde had decided to rant to him for an hour about Hufflepuffs and why she didn't belong there. Also, during that rant, she had decided he was a Slytherin.

Or suffering through one of her impromptu lectures on why she was Team Peeta when she bumped into him in the hallway.

Many people would have said that this girl was annoying.

It was true, she did have the power to drive anyone bonkers, but that's what made her Serena.

Darien groaned, running his hand through his thick, messy hair.

No matter what that girl did, he still loved her. Yet he could never pull himself together enough to tell her how he felt.

A loud beep from the coffee maker pulled him back from his thoughts.

As he sat on his balcony, gazing at the city lights all around him he had decided on one thing.

Serena was taking over his mind.

… .. …

Serena let out a frustrated cry as she threw herself down on the plush couch.

"Curse that… that… stupid French Feather-Duster!"

She had just arrived home from one of her favorite musicals, Beauty and the Beast, and was pissed at Mina and Mina's theatre buddy.

Apparently Mina had gotten tickets from her friend who was playing the part of Babette, the walking, talking French feather-duster. Mina had 'coincidentally' had plans for that day and had given her the ticket.

The unsuspecting blonde had gladly taken the front row ticket, only to have the person sitting next to her be Darien.

The newly made memory of her walking into the theatre only to find him sitting in the seat right next to hers burned in her mind.

She had nearly screeched at him, but the lights had already begun to flash on and off signaling the start of the show was soon to be there.

Grudgingly she had sat in her chair and leaned over to ask him why he was here.

He had whispered back to her that the girl he tutored was one of the lead animate inanimate objects.

Realization had dawned on her that Mina and her friend had to be trying to set them up together.

The only thing good about sitting next to him was that he let her wear his jacket when she got cold. Even if it was a nasty pea green, it still was warm. And she made a big show of wiping her eyes and runny nose with the sleeve when she got all weepy at the end.

She and Darien had confronted the brown haired actress after the show about setting them up.

Addie, that's what her name was, had squeaked something in a language that sounded suspiciously like French and ran off to hid behind her other cast mates.

Serena sat up on the couch, thinking about the unfortunately handsome dark haired man she was forced to sit next to for over two hours.

Thinking of him brought up their brief kiss from the week before.

Serena's small hand unconsciously made its way up to her lips, which tingled at the memory.

A small smile grew on her face as she thought about him, his tall figure that could be easily recognized from far away. And his dark silky looking hair that was practically beginning her to push it back. The dark hair that always fell in his eyes in the cutest way.

His deep blue eyes that she could get lost in…

"No."

Serena shook her head to get the thought of him out of it.

"No. You are not falling in love with Darien Shields. Nothing good would ever come out of that. Just like when Ron tried to ask Hermione to dance at the Yule Ball. I don't wanna end up like him; walking around with a giant Hershey's bar, though I would like one of those… they're huge." Serena grabbed the pillow on her couch that was embroidered with a bunny. "Oh great… now I wanna watch AVPM…"

* * *

Hey guys! Second chapter posted in less than a week!

Hope you guys liked this one, sorry about all the dorky references.

I just had to put in that last one with Serena and the giant Hersey's bar from AVPM (A Very Potter Musical).

Those of you who have read my story Sparks might recognize the character of Addie who i like to put in most of my fics, she's just a random character slightly based off of myself.

Anyways. Warm Fuzzies are for:

LunaTwilightMagicAttack

Lunarstar99

LeaBelle

everybodysmile

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Well until next time, Don't forget to review!

Aliey

Sailor Rallison

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	5. Stormy Nights

Down the Hall

Chapter 5

Stormy Nights

* * *

Serena cursed under her breath as rain started to fall. She quickly snapped her book shut and ran into her apartment.

The blonde had been enjoying a nice sunset out on her balcony, reading a well-worn book, and hadn't noticed the dark clouds rolling in.

Serena shut the balcony door just as the rain started to pour.

"It wasn't supposed to rain today, was it?" she asked herself as she settled down on her couch, opening up her graphic novel once more.

She shuttered as a flash of lightning forked through the sky, soon followed by a loud roar of thunder. "Oh God. I hate storms. Hopefully this will lighten up soon."

… .. …

Rain pounded the sides of the tall apartment complex. Forked lightning lit up the dark sky, looking like long fingered hands reaching towards the city from in the distance. Thunder shook the building with each loud, roaring rumble.

Darien sat on his couch in front of the coffee table, working on finishing his paper. The storm had already knocked out the internet access and he was forced to use his text book for reference.

The loud boom of thunder shook the room once more.

Darien looked up and watched the heavy rain pounding ruthlessly against the windows as it had been for the last several hours. The storm had only gotten worse since it had started.

He glanced over at the glowing clock of the oven.

10:48.

Sighing, he turned his attention back to the text book sitting in front of him on the coffee table. He tapped his pencil against the side as he read.

CRACK!

Darien groaned as the lights flickered and died out.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Darien leaned back on the couch, running his hand through his thick, dark hair.

Cautiously he stood and walked across the dark room, cursing under his breath when he tripped over the leg of a table. He racked his brain trying to figure out where he had the battery powered lantern that Andrew had left over at his place.

Stumbling through the darkness he made his way to his room in the back of the apartment. The dark haired man vaguely remembered seeing it in the back of his closet a while ago.

Darien squinted, trying to see in the shadows. Sorting through piles of stuff, he finally felt the large plastic lantern. Fumbling he flicked on the switch, filling his room with light.

The tall man blinked a few times to get his eyes used to the light.

"God, I hope Meatball Head is oaky." He muttered to himself, thinking of how his small blonde neighbor might react to the power going out.

Careful not to trip over anything he made his way back to the living room and placed the lantern on the table. He began to put up his work, thinking it would be better just to finish in the morning. He shoved his laptop in its case, he heard a soft knock.

He glanced up, but thinking it was just something hitting the window he shook his head and continued to pack up his things.

A loud whimper came from the other side of the front door.

Another soft knock soon followed.

Wondering who it was, he crossed the room and opened his door.

"D-d-darien?"

Serena stood there, looking more like a scared child than the twenty one year old woman she was.

She stood there in her pajamas and a large blanket wrapped around her shoulders, her long golden hair was hanging limply down to her knees. A large stuffed bunny was hugged tightly in her arms along with a teddy bear.

In the dim light of the lantern he thought she looked like an angel.

Normally he would have made fun of her to stop himself from blurting out 'I love you', but the tear tracks on her cheeks and frightened blue eyes told him not to.

Serena's eyes were wet with unshed tears and her nose was red and runny.

Thunder shook the building and the small girl in front of him shook with fear.

It was obvious that she was deathly afraid of thunder.

Unable to see her like this he dropped the light and pulled the shaking girl into a tight embrace, holding her close to him. He could feel her shaking in his arms. "What happened, Serena?" he asked calling her by her real name, not his usual nick name Meatball Head, the one that drove her crazy.

She pushed away slightly from him to look him in the eyes. She had tear stains down her cheeks and looked like she was about to burst into sobs once more. "It's the storm. I can't sleep. It… it… it scares me. I hate storms. The thunder has always scared me." She huggled her cream colored bunny rabbit against her, a few tears had leaked out and slid down her cheek to plop on the top of its soft fur.

She stood there nervously shaking in her yoga pants and thin tee shirt. The blonde wrapped her bunny patterned blanket around herself tighter. She broke away from him. "Sorry to bother you. I'll go… I probably ruined your night. I just didn't know who else…."

She looked surprised when Darien pulled her close again. "Shhh… it's okay."

Another crash of thunder echoed down the hall.

The small girl buried her head in his chest, sobs flowing freely. She jumped as Darien shut the door behind her with a small thud.

Darien held her tightly, softly petting her long, golden locks. "Sere…. It's okay… you can stay here until the storm passes."

She pushed away from him and looked up at him with her big, baby blue eyes. "You'd let me do that?"

His dark blue eyes stared intently at her. "Yeah… I'm not that much of an ass that I'd turn you away."

Serena gave him a small smile. "You're not a ass. You can just be rude at times…."

Darien bent down to pick up the fallen lantern and had started to walk slowly back towards his living room, normally he would have said something about her bad grammar, but let it pass.

"Darien…."

He paused, turning around to look at her. "Well are you coming or not?"

She quickly caught up to him, squealing a bit as lightning flashed outside. Serena latched herself to Darien's side as if she was hiding from the thunder.

He carefully picked her off his side and set her down on the couch. Placing their light source on the table in front of her, he settled himself down next to her.

Unable to help himself, he pulled the frightened girl in his arms.

She tensed up for a moment before relaxing and resting her head against his chest her teddy bear squished between her and the couch and her bunny was snuggled next to her face. She wiped her watery eyes on the soft fur of the rabbit's long ears.

Serena felt Darien wrap his arms around her waist.

Leaning her head against him she imagined, him holding her like this, only in her mind he loved her and didn't think of her as 'Annoying Meatball Head'.

She hadn't been able to sleep with the thunder and lightning.

As far back as she could remember, she had always been deathly afraid of storms. Terrified by lightning and thunder.

She shook with fear as one of her worst fears shook the building. She never thought of what would happen in a storm until one happened.

In the past she had always had her mother or a friend to be there with her. But not now.

Not knowing what to do, she had forced herself to go down the hall.

She was afraid that Darien would just laugh at her and tell her to go away and was surprised when he said she could stay with him.

She reminded herself that it was probably just to shut her up, not him caring about her.

But she wished with all her heart that it was the latter.

… .. …

The storm was unyielding, never letting up.

Darien looked down at the half asleep Serena. She fidgeted and whimpered with every roll of thunder.

She looked beautiful, curled up next to him. If only she knew how he felt.

"Serena…"

"Yeah?"

Oh great, those big blue eyes of hers always seemed to make him melt.

"Nothing…" He shook his head. "Forgot what I was gonna say. Sorry for keeping you awake, you should probably try to get some sleep, it's getting late. Just try to block out the storm."

The floor shook and he squeezed her lightly as she whimpered.

Darien felt Serena shiver and tug her blanket around her body.

"Are you cold?" he asked.

She nodded. Darien pulled off his sweatshirt and handed it to her. "Hear."

Serena tentatively took the thick hoodie, putting it on; it fell down to her knees, the sleeves covering her hands. Settling herself back down, she pulled her blanket around her legs.

Darien felt her put her teddy bear so that it was sandwiched in between his arm and the couch, she rested her head against it like a pillow and made herself comfortable.

Hesitantly, he leaned down and placed a small kiss on the top of her head. "I love you." he whispered against the silky strands.

* * *

Hey guys. Hope y'all liked this chapter! Don't kill me about the semi-cliffie. I worked really hard on this and hope that my work shows through.

I've had this planned for a while, but it was just my luck that's it been raining almost every night for the past week, storming really. I myself am terrified of storms so I was able to relate to Serena in this chapter and used it to my advantage.

I originally planned this to be a lot longer, but I just thought that this would be a great place to stop.

There's only gonna be about one more chapter and an epilogue (Maybe), so this is a shorter fic and I hope you've all liked it so far.

I'll stop my random talking now and do Warm Fuzzies.

Warm Fuzzies go to:

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Well until next time!

Don't forget to check out my other fics and review (Seriously, review. They make me all happy :P )

Aliey

Sailor Rallison


	6. Confessions of Love

Down the Hall

Chapter 6

Confessions of Love

* * *

Serena felt Darien shift where he sat, bending over slightly to kiss the top of her head. She could fell his breath against her head.

"I love you…" the whisper was soft, barely audible.

Her eyes widened as her mind went reeling.

Did Darien Shields just say he loved her?

The blonde flipped over, now lying on her belly, looking up into his navy eyes. "What did you just say?"

She saw Darien tense up. He took a deep breath before repeating. "I love you."

The small girl blinked, not believing what she just heard. "You… you love me?"

The raven haired man nodded, sitting up and looking into her eyes. "Yes. I love you. How many times do I have to say it? I love you. I started falling for you the day I met you and you threw that failed test at my head."

Serena cringed as the floor beneath her shook. She looked up at him with a confused look on her face. "Then why haven't you said anything before?"

He pulled her close. "Because I never knew what to say. I always wanted to say something, but whenever I tried, all that came up was insults. You know how when you're in grade school and the boy always teases the girl he likes because he doesn't know what to do?"

Serena nodded memories of her friends Molly and Melvin's awkward flirting back in Junior High.

"Well I was like that. I never knew what to do."

Serena gave him a small smile as he pushed a strand of hair out of her face.

"Please. Tell me that you don't hate me"

Serena stared down at her small feet that were covered with her pink bunny house shoes, nervously fiddling with the large cuffs of Darien's baggy sweatshirt. "Would you tell me I'm crazy if I told you I love you too?"

"No." he placed his hand under his chin and made her look up at him.

Blue eyes met blue.

Serena slowly craned her head forward to plant a small kiss on his lips. "I felt the same way all these years. Never saying anything to you because I thought you hated me."

Darien leaned down and rested his forehead against hers. "I could never hate you."

"So all those times I came home crying from school were for nothing?" She asked.

Darien's face became worried. "I never knew you went home crying. I never meant any harm. You know that? Right?"

"Yeah, It was usually on one of those days when I was pissed off about something, or just really moody. But now that I think about it, some of the things I said to you were really hurtful; I guess you did have a reason to be rude back to me." Serena bent over and pulled her bunny from where it had fallen off the couch.

"We've both done stupid things in the past, but will you forgive me for being such an ass to you?" the taller of the two asked.

The blonde gave a little giggle. "Of course. The things people do when they're in love…" She yawned sleepily, rubbing her eyes with the ear of her rabbit. Serena curled up in a small ball, bringing her knees up close to her chest as she used Darien as a pillow.

Serena felt warm and comfortable wrapped up in his sweatshirt. The smell of coffee and roses surrounded her. She grinned into her bunny as she hugged it against her, welcoming the smell that was uniquely Darien.

The raven haired man stifled a yawn as he grabbed his phone from the coffee table to check the time. "God, it's late. Though it seems like the storm is dying down a bit…"

That was true, they hadn't heard thunder or seen lightning for a while and the rain, slowly but surely, seemed to letting up.

He looked down to see the girl he loved half asleep already. "Oh Serena, my little Meatball Head…" he trailed of and placed a kiss on the tip of what he thought was her adorable button nose. "I love you."

She turned around drowsily to look at him. "I love you too." She mumbled in a groggy voice, before burying her head in her childish stuffed animal.

Darien pulled the blanket over the two of them, wrapping one of his arms around her small waist, slowly drifting to sleep as she snuggled into his warmth.

… .. …

Serena woke up to the smell of frying bacon.

She sat up groggily taking in her surroundings that were Darien Shield's bland apartment living room.

She remembered running to him when the storm last night had shut down the power. And how he had immediately taken her in his arms, protecting her from her worst fear.

A smile crept onto her face as the memory of him telling her he loved her popped in to her mind.

Finally, after years of acting like she didn't like him, she had admitted her feelings to him.

She couldn't believe all that time she had hid her feelings, Darien had been doing the same thing. She felt stupid for not listening to Mina and the others.

"Hey, Sleeping Meatball Head is awake!" Darien stood in the doorway, frying pan in hand and an apron tied around his waist.

A very colorful, _flowery_ apron to be exact.

She couldn't help herself but to burst into laughter at the sight of him.

No guy, she thought, should be wearing a flowery apron like Anne Burrell on the Food Network.

"What?"

"No I think the question is what on earth are you wearing?" the blonde giggled, wiping tears of laughter away from the corner of her eyes with the sleeve of the jacket she was wearing.

Darien gestured at the floral material while raising an eyebrow at her. "This? Drew gave it to me as a joke."

"Yes. Take it off. You look like Anne Burrell!" She whined standing up and stretching her arms out.

"Who?"

"A person on the Food Network. Lita forces me to watch it with her a lot. She's one of the best I think, and she always wears a flowery apron, like the one you're wearing." Serena giggled as she followed him into his kitchen.

The black haired guy gave her a lopsided grin. "Well why don't we see if I can cook as well as her." he placed a yummy looking plate of eggs, bacon, and toast on the counter in front of the place she sat at.

"Looks good. But then again, whenever I try to bake something like this it usually ends up burned." She shrugged and picked at her scrambled eggs with a fork.

Darien looked over at her from across the table. "Then what do you usually do for breakfast?"

"Ever heard of cereal?" she asked sarcastically, as she paused in shoveling the yummy food in her mouth. "By the way, what time is it?"

"Around ten, I didn't want to wake you up."

Serena groaned, facepalm-ing. "Great I was supposed to meet up with Mina at the arcade."

A worried look on her face appeared. "Oh no…"

"What?" Darien looked down at the concerned expression on Serena's face.

"How are we supposed to explain this to them. Mina's gonna freak…"

* * *

Hey guys. That was the last chapter! But don't worry! The Epilogue is on its way!

I'm sad that this is finally over, but I'm happy at the same time.

I want to thank all of y'all for all the support that I've gotten for this story.

Warm Fuzzies go to:

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Anyways, All of y'all are great.

Until next time, Don't forget to review!

Aliey

Sailor Rallison


	7. Epilogue

Down the Hall

Epilogue

Two Years Later

* * *

Serena smiled as she looked around her now empty apartment for the last time.

With all of her unneeded furniture sold, it looked so sad and empty.

Glancing over in the vacant living room she remembered the game of truth or dare that had ended up with her kissing Darien, who was her worst enemy at the time.

She still couldn't believe it had been over a year, almost two, since the two of them had opened up to each other about their feelings.

The forever humiliating memory of calling Andrew and the girls over after 'The Storm' to tell them about their new found love. They both knew that their friends had been trying to set them up for as long as they had known each other. The thought of having to tell them that they were right all along was just down right awful. Andrew and Mina and both jumped up and made a big show of high-fiving and telling them that they knew that the two of them were one day going to get together.

She reminisced on the last year of her life, recalling memories of the two of them snuggled up together on the couch, after forcing him to watch some cheesy chick flick or sappy romantic movie.

Or other times when they had just sat there, enjoying each other's company.

Sometimes he still teased her about things that had just become old habit, like calling her Meatball Head and things like that.

Of course they had their petty arguments, but they always made up, usually with Serena running over to his place at one in the morning, having not been able to sleep because she felt bad about arguing over stupid things such as whose turn it was to clean up the kitchen after one of her attempts to cook dinner. In her defense, he should have done it; she did in fact actually make a decent pasta dish.

She picked up her last boxes just as the door opened and a dark haired guy stuck his head in. "Ready to go, Sere?"

"Yeah, this is the last of them." She looked up at her boyfriend from where she stood in the bare kitchen.

He walked in taking the heavy box from her hands. "I'll take that. God, Serena, what do you have in here?" he placed the box back down on the counter, opening the flaps he pulled out a pink coffee mug with a bunny painted on it. "You really need this?"

"Yes!"

He reached over and ruffled her blonde bangs. "You can still me such a Meatball Head at times."

"Dare!"

Darien raised a dark brow at her. "What, I'm just telling the truth…"

Serena stuck her tongue out at him. "Jerk!"

He leaned in close to her, his forehead pressed against hers. "Yeah, but I'm _your _Jerk, and you're my Meatball Head. Come on. Let's go." He picked up the box once more and left, leaving Serena to look around her old home once more.

"Hey. Are you coming? Or are you gonna spent the rest of the day staring at that blank wall?" Darien came up from behind Serena and pulled her into his arms.

Serena turned to look at him. "Yeah… in just a minute. Go ahead. I'll meet up with you."

Taking one last lingering look around, she grabbed the last box on the table and made her way over to the door, smiling as she closed the door for the last time.

She hurried after Darien, following him into his own apartment.

Not bothering to look back at the door to her old apartment.

She opened the door to her new home, thinking about the day, and just over two years ago when she had first stepped into the apartment down the hall.

Well this, my dear friends,

Is the unfortunate end,

I have nothing else to tell,

So this is my… goodbye.

THE END!

* * *

Hey guys! Well that's the end!

Warm Fuzzies go to:

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I want to give a huge thanks to all the people who have reviewed, added this story to their favorites or alert lists, or added me to their favorite author or alert list:

Warm Fuzzies to of you!

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Well I guess that's the end of this story. i hope to be getting a new story up soon, i am just now getting the first chapter down on paper so be looking for it soon. Until my next one,

Aliey

Sailor Rallison


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